Foncie’s Corner Weekly – Volume 1

From 1934 to 1979, street photographer Foncie Pulice set up his camera on Vancouver city sidewalks and snapped candid shots of people strolling by. For almost half a century, he took thousands of photos, unwittingly capturing moments in time, the history of a city, and the lives of British Columbians.

Now documentary filmmaker Melanie Wood and British Columbia’s Knowledge Network are bringing these photographs together – collecting them from albums around the province and giving them a public home. Photo negatives of Foncie’s images do not exist. He destroyed most of them when he retired. Until now there was no central archive or collection.

Some thoughts from the subject of this 1949 Foncie photo: “Hilary (that’s me) on the left and my friend Diane downtown shopping. Scarves were all the rage back then. We were both at senior Matric at King Edward high school at 12th and Oak. We both became teachers.”

Foncie’s Corner is an interactive website, serving as a “digital street corner” to collect your Foncie photos and stories. The images and memories you share will become part of this extensive collection, tracing a timeline through the heart of Vancouver. Your shared images could even become part of a documentary about Foncie and his work.

This is a story about Vancouver, about British Columbia, and about it’s people … so they need your help. Visit Knowledge.ca/FonciesCorner to add your photos and stories to the collection.

We’ll be sharing a couple of Foncie photos here on V.I.A. each week leading up to the release of the documentary film being released in the summer. Share your memories (or the ones you find in your parents’ and grandparents’ archives) and become a part of Vancouver’s history!

Some thoughts from the subject of this 1950 Foncie photo: : “That’s me and my good friend Barrie en route to the Commodore ballroom. We’d go out dancing all the time. We always dressed to go downtown. I sewed my own clothes, most of us did, because we couldn’t afford to buy clothes. I’d sew a dress like this and then make different shawls and over skirts to change it for another occasion.”

Bob is the founder/Editor-In-Chief of V.I.A.. An outdoorsman and family man with 20 years of professional experience in online publishing, he's currently writing the "BC Was Awesome" history book (out 2017) and hosting the TV show of the same name (out now).